1. Field of Invention
This invention pertains to an automatic fire extinguishing apparatus, and more particularly to an apparatus which locates a fire in a room and directs a stream of water or other agent from a nozzle at the fire for extinguishing it.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Automatic sprinkler installations are common in both residential and commercial establishments and are frequently mandated by local fire codes. However these sprinkler installations consist merely of a plurality of water nozzles set off by mechanical heat sensors. Because these types of heat sensors are slow and inefficient, by the time the fire is detected it has usually spread over a large area causing injuries and property damage before it is extinguished. Additionally, a fire is much more difficult to extinguish after it has spread then at its inception. Fire detectors are also known which detect a fire by using heat and/or light sensors. However these types of detectors are used commonly merely to set off fire alarms and not to extinguish the fire itself. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,665,440; 3,493,953; 3,689,773 and 3,824,392 show various state of the art detectors.
In view of the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art, it is an objective of the present invention to provide an apparatus which can quickly identify and extinguish a fire before it has a chance to spread.
A further objective is to provide an apparatus which can accurately pinpoint and extinguish a fire whereby the fire extinguishing activity is, restricted only to the immediate vicinity of the fire thereby reducing damage.
A further objective is to provide a fire extinguishing apparatus which is reliable yet inexpensive.
Other objectives and advantages of this invention shall become apparent from the following description.
Briefly, the fire extinguishing apparatus constructed in accordance within invention contains a turret mounted to oversee a preselected area or room, and a plurality of sensors for sensing a fire. The apparatus also includes nozzle means disposed on the turret, and aiming means coupled to said sensors for aiming said nozzle means toward a fire detected by the sensors. An extinguishing agent is then ejected toward the fire by the nozzle means. After the fire has been extinguished, the flow of the extinguishing agent to the nozzle means is disrupted.